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STEM program guide without a degree: Physician Assistant in Dubuque, IA–IL

Of the 5 counties in the Dubuque, IA–IL labor market, 1 tourism and recreation county — the hospital district is often the county's largest payroll, and retirement and visitor populations raise clinical demand. That is where a physician assistant is hired here.

Home › STEM Compass › STEM program guide without a degree › Physician Assistant › Dubuque, IA–IL
+20%Growth 2024–34
7Traits it runs on
Healthcare & Life SciencesFamily
EmpathyComposureDetailCommunicationAdaptabilityCollaborationSkepticismHealth & HealingCommunity & Education

What the work is worth. Physician assistants are how rural clinics and overloaded emergency rooms keep seeing patients. The role expands who gets care.

An ordinary day. Examine and diagnose patients, order and read tests, prescribe treatment, and assist in procedures in collaboration with physicians.

The path in. Master's from an accredited PA program plus national certification; patient-care hours required to apply.

From zero. The STEM Farm Healthcare / Clinical Support / Medical Technology track starts at zero-STEM intake and ends in this kind of work, with verified proof at every gate.

Take the STEM Compass assessmentZero to Physician Assistant →

STEM program guide without a degree. A guide grounded in measurement instead of opinion: forty careers with the traits each runs on, what the work is worth to the world, the education path, and a way to find out which are yours. A STEM program is a path to a career. Find the career that fits first, then the STEM Farm track that starts at zero and ends in that job with verified proof at every gate. Web, software, security, data and technician roles open through certificates, apprenticeships and portfolios; the STEM Farm track assumes no degree.

Where in Dubuque, IA–IL this work lives

Counties in this zone ordered by how closely their ERS economy type matches what physician assistant roles are hired into.

Jo Daviess County, ILClinton County, IADelaware County, IAJackson County, IADubuque County, IA

The personality behind the work

Physician Assistant in the metros around Dubuque, IA–IL

Chicago, IL11 countiesSt. Louis, MO12 countiesOmaha, NE–IA10 countiesDes Moines, IA8 countiesDavenport, IA–IL7 countiesPeoria, IL8 countiesRockford, IL7 countiesCedar Rapids, IA9 countiesEvansville, IN10 countiesChampaign, IL6 countiesLafayette, IN9 countiesSpringfield, IL10 counties

Other careers in Dubuque, IA–IL

Biomedical Engineer+6%Registered Nurse+5%Physician & Surgeon+4%Clinical Laboratory Technologist+4%Medical Scientist+9%Epidemiologist+16%Microbiologist+5%

STEM program guide without a degree: Physician Assistant everywhere → · Physician Assistant in Dubuque, IA–IL →

Sources. Career traits, education paths and value lines are the STEM Compass assessment library. Employment growth is U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2024–2034. County economic types are USDA Economic Research Service County Typology Codes (2025); labor markets are Census commuting zones (2020). Salary is not shown anywhere in this campaign on purpose: the assessment measures fit and what the work is worth to the world.